The New Meta (CR #26 Recap)

It’s been an exciting, aggravating, emotional, confusing, and high velocity week in the Crucible; Sparrow racing, the new meta, and a couple shiny new exotics – let’s dive in.

Whip

On a technicality, Sparrow Racing is PvP, therefore Crucible Radio has got to weigh in. It’s nothing high stakes or all that extreme but once in awhile a race can come down to a photo finish, and you’re rewarded with some worthwhile materials and gear. Either way, it’s a nice change of pace for those who play a lot of Destiny.

The helmets are a great reward in particular, because of the fact that they can drop with the perk known as Angel of Mercy, a perk that provides more super energy for reviving your teammates (perfect for Skirmish and Elimination).

The Sharpest Tool in the Shed

It’s no secret that Birds, Bones and Swain all love the MIDA Multi-Tool, but why, exactly? Its return in Year 2 has been hyped to incredible proportions, and for good reason: MIDA is simply a cut above the rest in many, many regards.

Let’s look at the basic stats: 100 reload speed, 100 equip speed, the highest aim assit of any scout rifle at 90, and a rate-of-fire/impact ratio of 42/37, rare for Destiny. These are objectively fantastic stats, and MIDA doesn’t stop there; it’s got a strong ability to make enemies flinch, and greatly increases your strafing speed, making the user a tough target to hit.

Pro Tip: MIDA’s scope features a classic “caret” reticle. This may seem like an arrow to point with, but actually, the arrow is meant to go above the target. Think of the carrot as a hat, and put it on an enemy guardian’s head – that’s the perfect shot for the MIDA Multi-Tool.

Primaries Feel… Good

Though a few outliers remain questionable, the 2.1 balance seems to have made a major improvement as far as primary weapons are concerned. Pulse rifles are still usable, but work in a more realistic way. High impact pulses (Spare Change, Lyudmila) took a questionable hit, but otherwise the weapon class is still viable even if they don’t remain the best weapons. Handcannons have seen a slight resurgence as well thanks to some tweaks, and The Last Word seems to be making a buzz in the Crucible again. Whether or not this is a good thing is up to the players, but it’s nice to see variety.

Auto rifles left plenty of players confused and frustrated, including Bones, who was looking forward to running with his Doctrine of Passing. Crucible Radio is holding off on a final judgement on Autos, though the improvements on Fabian Strategy have made the Titan exotic much more enjoyable to use.

Shotguns OK, Fusion Rifles Struggle

In the world of secondaries, it looks like we finally have a significant enough change to shotguns. After a year of problems, the slower movement speed seems to have reeled in a wielder’s ability to wreak havoc with little consequence, but with a little planning, they get the job done.

The shotgun changes do create food for thought in a future conversation. While they were admittedly strong in a past Crucible, there was certainly a skill to wielding them incredibly well. Does changing a weapon so drastically remove an element of skill for the game, and if so, is it worth it to create balance? More time with the new meta will be needed before coming to a conclusion on this issue.

Fusion rifles seem to remain in a weird space; the changes are hard to understand. The reduced stability seems to hurt an already weak weapon, but the intention for range is slowly making sense. Close range, fast-charging fusions aren’t as strong, meaning to use them effectively you’ll have to find one that reaches outside of shotgun range. This seems to make sense, but the stability keeps them from competing with shotguns and snipers as a go-to secondary.

Exotics Making a Difference

Twilight Garrison: Resident Titan Swain has been ranting and raving over this exotic for many episodes, and now that he’s got his hands on it, well… he’s still ranting and raving. The movement options are unparalleled, giving any kind of Titan a big edge. Pro Tip: you can initiate the Titan skating technique from a standstill using a single boost from the Twilight Garrison (without needing to establish momentum to begin with).

ATS/8 Tarantella: Though its effects in the Crucible are not visibly apparent, Bones tested the Tarantella out in Trials of Osiris and found the chest piece to be a fantastic alternative to the Mask of the Third Man for Bladedancers. More super and more grenades are always a good thing, especially when a super can decide a round.

Achlyophage Symbiote: One of Birds’ favorite exotics from year 1, Crucible radio’s resident Hunter was admittedly a little disappointed in the change to decrease this exotic’s super time from about 11 seconds to 7. With the Year 2 Spine of Young Ahamkara in rotation, the fourth Golden Gun shot from the Symbiote is no longer the go-to Gunslinger exotic.

Up Next

Next week on Crucible Radio, the guys will be interviewing Bungie’s Sage Merill and Jon Weisnewski, two of the lead sandbox designers behind the 2.1 balance to guns and Titans. Get ready – it’s going to shed some light on some of the community’s biggest questions.

A Crucible warrior trying to fight my way up the rankings and host of the Crucible Radio podcast under my better-known pseudonym “Bones.” But don’t let the show fool you – I’m obsessed with everything Destiny has to offer, and I’ll talk about it until you tell me to stop.